Podio music player adds a soundtrack to your bike ride

Meet your new favorite cycling partner.

(Credit: Podio)

Listening to headphones while riding a bike is obviously dangerous, and yet I see so many fellow cyclists mashing around with wires dangling from their ears. Why? Well, that's easy: because everyone loves riding to a soundtrack.

Unfortunately, there are too many important road noises (honks, sirens, etc...) that deserve attention, so music has to take a back seat...that is, unless you have the Podio, a digital audio player with a built-in speaker specifically designed for jamming in the bike lane.

(Credit: Podio)

The portable Podio includes a special bracket that easily mounts onto a set of handlebars. You can also throw a lanyard on it and hang it around your neck, since its convenience and size make it suitable as a walking, jogging, hiking, and camping partner as well. I guess that's cool, as long as you're willing to broadcast your music to everyone around you. Maybe leave the High School Music soundtrack off that playlist.

Two rechargeable batteries power the Podio, and you transfer music to it using the included USB cord, so we're assuming your system recognizes and mounts it as if it were an external hard drive. In terms of sound quality, the device uses a proprietary 1.5 watt microamp, delivering a punchy 94db to a Foster speaker typically used for notebooks and handheld devices, which should be enough to get you going without pulling your hearing away from the outside world.

No word yet on pricing or availability dates, but check out the slideshow for more pictures of the Podio digital audio player.

Podio portable audio player is a bike's best friend

[wavjockey]

Since I ride on a trail and not the street, I will stick with high-quality ear buds and keep my music to myself.
The only thing I need to hear is passing cyclists...which I don't, unfortunately.

A mirror is a better option for me.

[dirigibl]

A great way to have your earbuds and listen too is to use Audio Bones - headphones that use your skull to transduce music to your inner ear so you can listen to music AND to your environment:
http://www.audioboneheadphones.com/